II. Marketing: Getting your message out there
A. Why a marketing
approach works
Marketing is making offers to people to do something
valuable in exchange for something valuable. Originally developed to meet the
needs of industrial and domestic producers and consumers, marketing is now a
basic tool in use by savvy environmentalists. After all, the other side is
trying to sway opinion, so why not use marketing methods to introduce and
reinforce the facts?
Here is one simple example of why marketing is of value to
your cause. In retail marketing I offer to sell you a loaf of bread in exchange
for $2.99. In karst rapid response marketing, I ask authorities to modify or
abandon a development that can either wreck a cave or inflict economic hardship
on others, in exchange for their upholding the law or serving the public
interest.
There are three basic marketing strategies for karst
defenders to consider when developing a rapid response plan:
1. Market Segmentation Strategy: Marketers sort consumers into groups, termed “segments,”
that will benefit from an offered product or service. Each segment may be
targeted with appeals that are specific to that segment.
Karst rapid responders can use this strategy with specific appeals
supporting constructive behavior from each group involved. For instance, the
government segment is offered an opportunity to fulfill its duty by upholding
the law, in exchange for making a decision that a developer will find
unpopular: “Do the right and legal thing, even though the cost is an unhappy
developer.”
At the same time, the taxpayer segment is offered an appeal
supporting an economical outcome: “No taxes to pay for karst collapse or
flooding,” as a better choice than the developer’s unsupported promise to bring
jobs and progress to the community.
2. Offer Differentiation Strategy: The offer
consists of the product, service, or decision itself PLUS all the benefits
accompanying decision. Both the tangible and intangible values are beneficially
different from the decision the developer wants. As an example, we propose that the developer
post a bond that certain foundation investigations will be performed instead of
relying on a promise that can be reneged upon without recourse later.
3. Competitive Positioning Strategy: Positioning
is how the deciders view all competitors on each important buying factor. In karst rapid response marketing, the
decider may be a government agency such as a planning board. The competitors are the developer and his
plans on one hand, and those who oppose or advocate modifications to the
developer’s plans on the other hand. Important
buying factors can be technical facts (is the formal application complete and
accurate?), perception of the technical competence of the competitors, and
understanding of the legality of the proposals. Many government body decisions
are made on the perceived reputation of the competitors and the political
consequences of angering the competitors.
Effective marketing uses a combination of all three
marketing strategies, emphasizing one or two.
Keep in mind that, while you can sell anything if you can increase
perceived value over perceived cost in the minds of deciders, sticking with the
facts is the best strategy. Let the other side exaggerate and prevaricate:
always stay on the high road.
Tactical tools of marketing include one-way informing and two-way
negotiating. We will explore each of
these in turn as they relate to rapid response karst and cave advocacy.
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